Pillow



Nov. 19, 1968 s. SUMERGRADE PILLOW Filed Sept. 7. 1966 TTM INVENToR. JAMSaffi/@@9405 United States Patent O 3,411,164 PILLOW Saul Sumergrade,1185 Park Ave., New York, N.Y. 10028 Filed Sept. 7, 1966, Ser. No.583,142 1 Claim. (Cl. 5-337) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A pillow havinga plurality of divider panels for forming separate compartments. Aninflatable member is disposed within the casing and is supported by theinflatable member between the fabric layers and spaced from the fabriclayers and the peripheral edges thereof. A filling material is disposedbetween the inflatable member and the fabric layers This inventionrelates to pillows and more particularly to novel constructions thereoffor increasing the comfort of the user.

The conventional pillow is a bulbous sack with feathers or down or acombination of Various percentages of both. The down or feather or acombination of both shift very easily to the peripheral edges uponapplication of pressure to any part of the bulbous sack or pillow. Thepressure of the head upon the pillow forces the down or feather or acombination of both to the outer edges thereby allowing the head withvery little support from the filling materials.

One of the objects of the present invention is to prevent the fillingmaterial from shifting to any great degree thereby giving proper supportto the head at all times. Another object is to allow for the use oflower price filling materials in the two outer compartments of a pillowconstructed in accordance with the present invention. The centercompartment can be filled with down to provide maximum comfort at theusual location where the head is rested. The outer compartment can havelower priced filling materials without materially affecting the comfortof the user.

A further object of the invention is to provide a back support forpeople confined to bed because of illness or for people who read in bed.It generally requires two conventional pillows to provide this support.Upon retiring to sleep, the second pillow is superfluous and is usuallydiscarded. This invention gives the required support by means of aninflatable member inserted in the middle compartment. When reading orsitting up in bed, the pillow is inflated to the required height forcomfortable support. When retiring for sleep, the pillow is deflated tothe extent that gives maximum comfort.

In carrying out the invention, panels of fabric material are sewn to thelayers forming the pillow casing in such a manner as to divide thepillow into three transverse compartments. Thus, the center compartmentwhich may be filled, as for an example only, with down, extends theentire width of the pillow for providing maximum comfort at the usuallocations where the head of the user is rested. Further, the down orother filling cannot gather at the ends of the pillow as is usual aftertwo or three years of life of the pillow thereby extending the usefullife of the pillow. The outer compartment can be filled with lower pricefeather or a mixture of down and feathers. Further various cheaperfilling materials can be used throughout the pillow and give morecomfort than the conventional because of lack of shifting of the fillingmaterial.

Still further objects and features of the invention reside in theprovision of a pillow which is simple in construction and manufacture,is capable of being produced out of readily available materials, andwhich is ICC adaptable for mass production, thereby permitting wide useand distribution.

These, together with the various ancillary objects and features of thepresent invention, which will become apparent as the followingdescription proceeds are attained by this pillow, preferred embodimentsof which are illustrated in the accompanying drawing, by way of exampleonly, wherein:

FIG. l is a plan view of a pillow constructed in accordance with theconcepts of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional View taken along the planeof line 2-2 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged partial sectional view showing details ofconstruction of the pillow;

FIG. 4 is a sectional detail view of a portion of the modified form ofthe pillow employing an inflatable member; and

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the manner in which the pillow maybe utilized in conjunction with a pillow casing.

With continuing reference to the accompanying drawing, wherein likereference numerals designate similar parts throughout the various views,reference numeral 10 generally designates a pillow constructed inaccordance with the concepts of the present invention. The pillowincludes an upper rectangular fabric layer 12 of any desired materialand a lower rectangular fabric layer 14 complementary in size to theupper layer 12. A pair of substantially rectangular fabric panels 16 and18 are disposed within the pillow casing 20 formed by the upper layer 12and the lower layer 14. The panel 16 has a folded portion 22 seamed at24 to the upper layer 12 and has a folded portion 26 seamed at 28 to thelower layer 14. The panel 18 has a folded portion 30 seamed at 32 to theupper portion 12 and a folded portion 34 seamed at 36 to the lower layer14. The peripheral edges 38 and 40 of the upper layer 12 and the lowerlayer 14 are seamed together at 42 together with a suitable binding 44.The panels 16 and 18 divide the pillow casing 20 into three compartmentsincluding a central compartment 46 and two end compartments 48 and 50.The central compartment 46 is substantially larger than the two endcompartments and preferably twice the width of either end compartment 48and 50. The central compartment 46 preferably has a filling 52 of downor a mixture of down and feathers, while the end compartments 48 and 50may be filled with a cheaper filling.

As lcan be seen in FIG. 3, the panels 16 and 18 extend substantially theentire width of the pillow casing 48 and hold the filling material ineach compartment 46 thus assuring considerable support and retention ofthe filling material within` the central compartment and increasing thecomfort provided the head of the user.

As shown in FIG. 4, an inflatable member 60 can be provided. Theinflatable member is inflated through use of the rubber tube which has aportion 64 extending outwardly of the pillowing casing 20 and which isinflated using a hand pump 66 and control valve 68 which can be set as aone-way valve when inflating and may be opened for deflation. Theinflatable member is inflatable from a position shown in the dottedlines in FIG. 4 to the solid lines therein and 'may be formed of rubberor rubber-like material and is preferably seamed at opposite edges 70and 72 to the panels 16 and 18 midway between the layers 12 and 14 so asto divide the central compartment 46 into two separate sections 74 and76 whereby filling material may be pressed in equal amounts above andbelow the inflatable member 60 thus assuring for extreme comfort andproviding considerable support for the head of the user. Further, sincethe inflatable member need not be as wide as the pillow,

the arrangement for securing the inatable member to the panels assuresthat the inflatable member will be safely spaced from the peripheraledges of the pillow casing, thereby assuring that there will be asuitable amount of filling for providing comfort to the user and lack ofcontact of the user and of physical awareness to the user of theinflatable member. y

In FIG. 5 there is shown a pillow casing 90 adapted to be utilized usinga part of the invention forming the ypresent invention and which isprovided with a slide fastener closure 92 at one end thereof forover-lying the pillow casing 20 thereby assuring not only for physicalcomfort but providing for any suitable or desired aesthetic appearancefor the pillow. The pillow casing 90 may be made with any suitablefabric and provided with any suitable ornamentation.

A latitude of modication, substitution and change is intended in theforegoing disclosure, and in some instances some features of theinvention will be employed without a corresponding use of otherfeatures. Accordingly, it is appropriate that the appended claim beconstrued broadly and in a manner consistent with the spirit and scopeof the invention herein.

I claim:

1, A pillow comprising upper and lower rectangular fabric layers seamedto each other about their respective peripheral edges to form a pillowcasing, an iniiatable member within said casing,panel means supportingsaid inflatable member between said fabric layers and spaced from saidfabric layers and said peripheral edges thereof, means for inating saidinatable member extending outwardly of said casing, and a fillingmaterial disposed between said inflatable member and said fabric layers,said panel means comprises a pair of spaced parallel divider panels offabric material disposed in said casing and extending transverse to thelongitudinal axis of said layers, said panels having their edges seamedto said layers entirely about the peripheral edges thereof dividing saidpillow casing into three entirely closed compartments, said inflatablemember being secured to said panels and being disposed in the center ofsaid three compartments.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 795,108 7/1905 Doellinger 5-3481,206,775 11/1916 Everts 5-341 2,942,281 6/1960 Cole 5-341 3,017,642 1/1962 Rosenberg et al. 5-349 BOBBY R. GAY, Primary Examiner.

A. CALVERT, Assistant Examiner.

